The institute’s mission is to expand research on renewable energy to support the transformation of the energy sector, focusing on solar energy. Research priorities are printable photovoltaics and innovative methods for chemical energy storage, for example in the form of hydrogen. The transformation of the energy sector requires appropriate storage technologies, means of transportation, and new materials to cut the cost of solar energy. Only when these are available can renewable energy be made available in a climate-neutral and cheaper manner.

The cooperation partners provide know-how in the following areas: The Helmholtz-centers in Jülich and Berlin provide expertise in the areas of materials research for solar technologies and the generation of hydrogen from renewable energy. Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg contributes its materials and process research for the exploration and development of renewable energy systems.

The collaboration between Forschungszentrum Jülich, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, and Helmholtz-center Berlin will be based on collaborative research projects, joint appointments, and exchange of employees and students, to name but a few examples. During the initial phase, the institute will comprise four professorships and two young investigators groups with annual funding of € 5.5 million from the Helmholtz Association. The new research building on the south campus of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg houses laboratories and offices for the scientists. This very first Helmholtz facility in Northern Bavaria is one of the institutes of the Helmholtz Association.